Read the sentence below to find out if there is any error in it. The error, if…
2025
Read the sentence below to find out if there is any error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The letter of that part is the answer. If there is no error, the answer is (E). (Ignore errors in punctuation, if any.)
A third group of people would probable (A)/ accuse both the power plant (B)/ and the research institute of poisoning (C)/ the world by using and storing toxic nuclear waste (D)/ No error (E)
Answer: A. A — Concept: In English, adverbs — not adjectives — modify verbs, including a modal-verb + main-verb phrase such as “would ___ accuse”. An adjective can modify…
- A.
A
- B.
B
- C.
C
- D.
D
- E.
E
Attempted by 19 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Concept: In English, adverbs — not adjectives — modify verbs, including a modal-verb + main-verb phrase such as “would ___ accuse”. An adjective can modify only a noun or pronoun; using it to modify a verb is a grammatical error.
Application: Check each underlined part of the sentence against this rule:
(A) “would probable accuse” — “probable” is an adjective used to modify the verb “accuse”; the modal-verb phrase needs the adverb “probably” (“would probably accuse”). This is the grammatical error.
(B) “accuse both the power plant” — correctly begins the “accuse ... of ...” construction; no error.
(C) “and the research institute of poisoning” — “of poisoning” correctly uses the gerund after the preposition “of”, and the “both ... and ...” structure is parallel; no error.
(D) “the world by using and storing toxic nuclear waste” — “using” and “storing” are parallel gerunds after the preposition “by”; no error.
Cross-check: Replacing “probable” with “probably” — “A third group of people would probably accuse both the power plant and the research institute of poisoning the world by using and storing toxic nuclear waste” — reads as a grammatically correct sentence, confirming part (A) is the only error and the answer is (A).